Pages

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Future for Tomorrow -- Haley Hatch Freeman

Last year, I presented at a literacy fireside in Eagle Mountain. Afterwards, while we were milling around chatting with the ladies who had come out, I was approached by a beautiful young woman who introduced herself to me as an aspiring author. I meet aspiring authors regularly and am always willing to share advice, but this story was a little different. This story was true, and the author was a survivor.

Haley Hatch Freeman went through a difficult struggle with anorexia as a teenager. Well below one hundred pounds before she began to regain her weight, every day was a fight for her life. But with proper counseling, loving parents, and relying on the strength of her relationship with the Lord, she overcame this affliction and is now a happy, healthy mother of two children and looks at her future with hope.

Haley as she began her road to recovery.Haley today, healthy and full of life.

"A Future for Tomorrow" is not an easy read as we sorrow over Haley's condition and ache as she faces her reality. However, woven throughout the book is the thread of hope, and at the conclusion, we see how her experiences helped shape the woman she is today. This is a book I believe should be read by every parent, every young woman, and every Young Women's leader. You see, anorexia is not just something that happens to girls who are falling through the cracks. Haley grew up in a strong home and had a loving relationship with her parents. She was active in church and her community. She was probably one of those girls that you just couldn't picture having struggles at all - and yet she did. This disorder can afflict anyone, and it's important for us all to recognize the warning signs, to know how to get treatment, and most of all, to know there is hope.

I interviewed Haley for Families.com. You can read that interview here and here.

(This book was published by Granite in 2008.)

Visit Haley's blogspot and order copies of "A Future for Tomorrow" for your holiday gifting, and receive free shipping.

4 comments:

This sounds like a great book and a neat story of success. Thanks for sharing.OH and I love the music from Somewhere in Time! I played Rhapsody at my senior recital and haven't heard it for a while. :)